Turfman from Ardee: Mickey McCreanor, singer, storyteller, publican, on how Ireland's economic recovery has bypassed small town Ireland like his historic and charming homeplace Ardee.
Mickey McCreanor, who runs Butterly's, a quaint pub in his small historic and famous hometown of Ardee, Co. Louth, Ireland, offers a unique glimpse of how small town Ireland is disappearing, a hostage to economic and political priorities. Barely an hour from Dublin, Mickey lashes out at the Greens -- and says Ardee’s big pressing challenge is more jobs. Mickey McCreanor sings a famous local ballad, The Turfman From Ardee to chastise the powers that be, and to highlight a lack of strong leadership to guide the economic future of his charming hometown. As Mickey takes us down memory lane, and talks about the amazing local characters, history, and Ardee’s extraordinary sporting legacy, he lays out a vision of two Irelands: In one Ireland are places like Dublin with strong growth and prosperity; in the other Ireland, small towns and rural, is slow growth and economic stagnation. About a decade after Ireland gradually recovered and was bailed out after a banking catastrophe and a worldwide financial crisis, central planners in Dublin and Brussels seem to have forgotten places like Ardee. Mickey says the industrial world has bypassed his beloved place. And listen to his captivating baritone singing voice, in this episode, as a gentle cry from the heart.